Media365
While submissions for the 69th Grammys are underway, the titan K-pop group BTS has boycotted the forthcoming awards ceremony over seemingly restricting their music to new categories and criteria created by The Recording Academy for Asian languages. The Grammy Awards introduced a dedicated Asian Pop category in June before submissions opened, specifically for works that “meaningfully use one or more Asian languages, including K-pop, J-pop (Japanese pop), and C-pop (Chinese pop).”
In response, BTS announced that it would not submit its comeback album Arirang for the Grammys this year, effectively boycotting the legacy music awards. In the past, BTS has been nominated five times by The Recording Academy, but they have failed to secure a win. Despite fan calls that the Grammys is “biased” against BTS, the group continued to submit their music for consideration. However, it has now boycotted the Grammys’ forthcoming edition, bringing the spotlight once again to The Recording Academy’s controversial rules over categorising songs, the voting pattern and more issues. Here’s a list of prominent celebs who have boycotted the Grammys in the past.
The Weeknd boycotted the Grammys in 2021 after being shut out of nominations for his album After Hours and hit song Blinding Lights. He called the awards “corrupt” and banned his label from submitting his music for consideration at the Grammys. He later ended the boycott with a surprise performance at the 2025 ceremony.
At the 2020 Grammys, Post Malone was nominated for Record of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for Sunflower with Swae Lee, but didn’t win. Post Malone has had nine nominations with a total of zero wins. However, he returned to perform a tribute to Ozzy Osbourne in 2026.
Country music star Morgan Wallen boycotted the 68th edition of the Grammys by not submitting his album I’m the Problem for consideration. Wallen has never won a Grammy and has only received two nominations. While he has not addressed his decision to boycott the Grammys, it is believed that regular snubs by The Recording Academy could be the reason behind his decision.
Over several years, Drake has not submitted his music for the Grammys. From 2022-2024, Drake even withdrew his music from consideration for the award after being nominated by the Grammys. During this time, he did not attend the awards ceremony either.
Despite being the most decorated rapper in Grammys history with 89 nominations and 25 wins, Jay-Z has been critical of The Recording Academy and has boycotted the award show for six years. While he attended and performed at the Grammys over the years, Jay-Z has always been critical of the awards show, its submission criteria and the winners.
In 1989, Will Smith boycotted the Grammys in protest that the newly introduced best rap performance category wouldn’t be televised. Smith said, “ I don’t have the problem with the Grammy as an award or the Grammys as an institution, just had a problem with the 1989 design of the awards show.”
Rapper 50 Cent has boycotted Grammys over repeated snubs. Of his 15 total nominations, 50 Cent has only won one, for a collaboration with Eminem and Dr Dre. 50 Cent also described the Grammys as “out of touch”.
Music icons Kanye West, Eminem and Nicki Minaj have also boycotted the Grammys over snubs.
